Apprentices

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the contribution by the Deputy Leader of the House, Official Report, columns 841-2, on New clause 1 of the Deregulation Bill, how the information-sharing gateway will operate.

David Gauke: HMRC requires specific legal authority or a ‘gateway’ in order to be able to disclose information it holds in connection with its functions. Once this is in place, HMRC requires any disclosure of information to a public sector body to be governed by a robust memorandum of understanding. This will set out:
	The legal basis for sharing the information;
	The agreed administrative arrangements, including timescales, persons involved, security arrangements and frequency of disclosure;
	The circumstances (if any) under which the data may be disclosed and the sanctions that protect against unlawful disclosure of the information; and
	The mechanism for maintaining an audit trail or record for HMRC of all external disclosures of data.
	HMRC has a duty to ensure that any information transfers to a public sector body are legal and secure. HMRC also seeks an ongoing assurance that the transferred information will be treated in accordance with agreed standards and protocols. In addition, even where a legal gateway exists, any information disclosures must be compliant with both the Data Protection Act and the Human Rights Act.

Press

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to meet victims of press abuse and their representatives.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove (Sajid Javid), has received a formal request for a meeting, which he has accepted. This will be held in due course.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the costs to date has been of the preparation work for the connection of High Speed 2 to High Speed 1.

Robert Goodwill: In response to the HS2 Plus report by Sir David Higgins, the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), has decided to remove the HS1-HS2 link from the Phase One Hybrid Bill. The proposed link required too many compromises in terms of impacts on freight, passengers and the community in Camden.
	We believe there is a good strategic case for links to the continent but we need to select the right long term answer. The Secretary of State has therefore asked HS2 Ltd and Network Rail to consider how to improve connections from HS2 and the existing rail network to the Continent. We are currently developing the scope of the proposed study, which will explore options that will stand the test of time. As a result, at this stage no significant costs have been incurred in relation to the study.

Free School Meals

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all schools can provide free school meals for infant children by September 2014.

David Laws: The Government is providing substantial funding to enable schools to offer free meals to all infant pupils from September 2014, including over £1 billion additional revenue funding over the two years 2014 to 2016 and £150 million capital funding in 2014-15. The revenue funding includes transitional funding to small schools, worth a minimum of £3,000, which qualifying schools will be able to use to help them overcome delivery challenges.
	We are also funding a national support service, run by school food experts, which is providing advice and guidance to schools that need assistance in implementing universal infant free school meals. The support includes a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and an intensive face-to-face support service for schools facing significant challenges.

Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what use his Department has made of the National Wellbeing Index introduced by the Office for National Statistics in formulating policy since the introduction of that Index in 2011; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national wellbeing as defined in that Index since 2010.

Elizabeth Truss: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), is responsible for a wide range of issues which relate to a number of the key determinants of children's well-being as captured in the ONS' Children's well-being measures in the Measuring National Well-being Programme. These include policies designed to raise educational attainment, promote take-up of early years education, tackle bullying in schools and reduce child poverty.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Walsall North dated 30 April 2014, ref 2014/0036207, on behalf of a constituent.

Edward Timpson: The hon. Member wrote to Peter Lauener, chief executive of the Education Funding Agency, on 30 April 2014 about admissions arrangements at Walsall academy. He copied his letter to the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). Mr Lauener replied to the hon. Member on 14 May.

Members: Correspondence

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central received by his office on 29 May 2014, relating to the recent situation in Birmingham.

Edward Timpson: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), to the House on 9 June 2014, Official Report, columns 264-66, which addressed the questions raised in his letter.

Park View Educational Trust

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what reports on the management, financial conduct and teaching standards at the Park View Education Trust he has requested since the school became an academy;
	(2)  when (a) he and (b) officials in his Department first heard about allegations of misconduct at the Park View Educational Trust.

Edward Timpson: The allegations made in relation to Park View Educational Trust in Birmingham are very serious and are being investigated. The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), made a statement to the House on 9 June 2014 on the allegations.

Primary Education: Admissions

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to his Department's School Admissions Code, published in February 2012, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the consistent and effectual application of sections 2.16 and 2.17 of that code to primary education admissions for summer-born children.

David Laws: We published advice on the admission of summer-born children in July 2013. We are now monitoring the impact of this advice and have committed to review it one year after its publication.
	Officials are investigating cases referred to them to ensure admission authorities are complying with the provisions in the Code.

Pupils: North East

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much in pupil premium has been paid to (a) first, (b) middle and (c) upper schools in (i) Hexham, (ii) Northumberland and (iii) the North East to date.

David Laws: Figures showing the pupil premium allocations to schools in the Hexham constituency area, Northumberland local authority, and the North East in the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 are given in the following tables. These include allocations to academies in each area in each year. The figures for secondary schools include middle schools and all-through schools.
	
		
			 £ 
			  2011-12 Deprivation Premium 2011-12 Service Child Premium 2011-12 LAC Premium 2012-13 Deprivation Premium 2012-13 Service Child Premium 
			 Hexham constituency      
			 Primary 149,000 n/a n/a 283,000 n/a 
			 Secondary and middle schools 176,000 n/a n/a 475,000 n/a 
			 Total 325,000 13,000 n/a 758,000 18,000 
			       
			 Northumberland      
			 Primary 1,314,000 n/a n/a 2,266,000 n/a 
			 Secondary and middle schools 1,586,000 n/a n/a 3,477,000 n/a 
			 Total 2,900,000 79,000 94,000 5,743,000 122,000 
			       
			 North East      
			 Primary 21,322,000 n/a n/a 37,142,000 n/a 
			 Secondary and middle schools 14,090,000 n/a n/a 28,633,000 n/a 
			 Total 35,412,000 268,000 1,198,000 65,775,000 445,000 
		
	
	
		
			 £ 
			  2012-13 LAC Premium 2013-14 Deprivation Premium 2013-14 Service Child Premium 2013-14 LAC Premium Total, 2011-12 to 2013-14 
			 Hexham constituency      
			 Primary n/a 448,000 n/a n/a 880,000 
			 Secondary and middle schools n/a 754,000 n/a n/a 1,405,000 
			 Total n/a 1,202,000 24,000 n/a 2,339,000 
			       
			 Northumberland      
			 Primary n/a 3,700,000 n/a n/a 7,279,000 
			 Secondary and middle schools n/a 5,301,000 n/a n/a 10,363,000 
			 Total 122,000 9,000,000 156,000 175,000 18,390,000 
			       
			 North East      
			 Primary n/a 59,233,000 n/a n/a 117,697,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Secondary and middle schools n/a 42,591,000 n/a n/a 85,314,000 
			 Total 1,622,000 101,824,000 650,000 2,469,000 209,663,000 
			 Notes: 1. There is no published service child premium data at a school level for data protection reasons. 2. The looked-after children (LAC) premium is allocated at a local authority level, so no school or constituency level information is available. 3. The deprivation premium figures relate to mainstream primary, secondary, middle and all-through schools. However the local authority totals for the service child and LAC premiums also include local authority maintained special schools, special academies, pupil referral units, alternative provision academies, non-maintained special schools, hospital schools, and pupils aged 4 and above with an AP type of not in school.

Schools: Curriculum

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will introduce the teaching of the dangers of pornography into the school syllabus.

Elizabeth Truss: Teaching about sex and relationship education (SRE) is already compulsory in maintained secondary schools, and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
	When teaching SRE, all schools must have regard to the Secretary of State's statutory guidance, which sets out that SRE should be age-appropriate. Schools should ensure SRE supports young people to develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour. Schools are encouraged to develop their SRE practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals who are best placed to provide schools with up-to-date materials and advice on changing technologies.
	Schools will welcome the new supplementary advice, 'Sex and relationships education (SRE) for the 21st century', published recently by the PSHE Association, the Sex Education Forum and Brook. This addresses changes in technology and legislation since 2000, and will equip teachers to help protect children and young people from inappropriate online content, including the dangers of pornography, and from online bullying, harassment and exploitation.

Schools: Radicalism

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish his correspondence with the Secretary of State for the Home Department relating to extremism in schools.

Edward Timpson: In line with long-standing precedent, the Government does not normally publish internal correspondence between Departments.

Schools: Radicalism

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what dates he has met the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss extremism in schools since May 2010.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects.

Schools: Radicalism

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he was first informed about concerns relating to extremism in schools.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), established a dedicated due diligence and counter extremism division within the Department for Education in October 2010 in order to tackle the threat of extremism in schools. The Government’s revised “Prevent” strategy, published in June 2011, set out a general assessment of the threat. The Government has always been very clear that there is no place for extremist views in any school.

Animal Experiments

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will measure changes in the number of animals used in scientific procedures in the UK following publication of Working to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in July 2011.

Norman Baker: The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain for 2013 will be published on 10 July 2014. I will be publishing a progress report on the Coalition Commitment “Working to reduce the use of animals in research” in early 2015.

Asylum: Housing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were accommodated in (a) hotels and (b) bed and breakfasts, hostels and other establishments that provide lodging paid on a short-term basis in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Yorkshire and Humberside and (iii) the UK in each year since May 2010.

James Brokenshire: The department does not collect specific data on asylum applicants accommodated in contingency accommodation. COMPASS providers have a responsibility to provide suitable accommodation to asylum applicants. The COMPASS contracts allow providers to use alternative or temporary initial accommodation (IA) as contingency in exceptional circumstances, for example when the existing nominated IA is full. This may include the use of hotels for a short term period until such time as the asylum seeker is accommodated in the IA or provided with dispersal accommodation.

Firearms: Licensing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Fire Arms Certificate (a) applications and (b) renewals were made in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013.

Norman Baker: Available data relate to the financial years 2010/11 to 2012/13 and were published in Table 1 of ‘Firearm and Shotgun Certificates in England and Wales 2012/13’, available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firearm-and-shotgun-certificates-in-england-and-wales-2012-to-2013
	For easy reference, data are also provided in the table below. Data relating to 2013/14 will be published on 7 August 2014.
	
		
			 Number of new and renewal applications for firearm certificates in England and Wales, 2010-11 to 2012-131 
			  New applications Renewal applications 
			  Granted Refused Granted Refused 
			 2010-11 11,286 129 34,132 34 
			 2011-12 11,502 119 35,723 50 
			 2012-13 10,077 138 28,696 54 
			 1Source: These statistics are obtained from the National Firearms Licensing Management System.

Ascension Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of living conditions and labour standards on commercial vessels long-lining in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013.

Mark Simmonds: The Ascension Island Government is legally responsible for administering the marine fishery in the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Fishing Zone centred on the island.
	No assessment of living conditions and labour standards on commercial vessels carrying out licensed long-line fishing, or otherwise, in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013 has been carried out. The primary responsibility for the setting and enforcement of such standards lies with the flag state of each vessel.
	The Ascension Island Government paused the issuing of licences for commercial long-line fishing from 1 January 2014 in order to undertake a full review of the management of its fisheries with a view to a new structure to be put in place by 2015. Revised conditions for licences will form part of that outcome.

Ascension Island

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he took to ensure that the foreign commercial vessels fishing in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013 did not use slave labour.

Mark Simmonds: The Ascension Island Government is legally responsible for administering the marine fishery in the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Fishing Zone centred on the Island.
	There is no condition placed in the licences issued by the Ascension Island Government from 2010 to 2013 relating to slave labour. The primary responsibility for the setting and enforcement of standards on such matters lies with the flag state of each vessel.
	The Ascension Island Government paused the issuing of licences for commercial long-line fishing from 1 January 2014 in order to undertake a full review of the management of its fisheries with a view to a new structure to be put in place by 2015. Revised conditions for licences will form a part of that outcome.

Brazil

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Brazil on the issue of the recent increase in the number of disappeared persons in that country.

Hugo Swire: We have regular discussions on human rights with the Brazilian Government. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this during his second visit to Brazil in February for the Strategic Dialogue. The UK also holds regular discussions of Human Rights and public security through the EU namely, initiatives, the Brazil-EU Human Rights Dialogue, the last of which was held on 25 April in Brasilia.

Diego Garcia

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reparations will be paid to HM Treasury as a result of damage caused by discharges in the Diego Garcia lagoon in the British Indian Overseas Territory by US vessels and those responsible for causing that damage are prosecuted.

Mark Simmonds: It is not clear what if any damage has been caused by the discharges by US vessels in the Diego Garcia lagoon, and the Government looks forward to the conclusions of a joint UK-US study of the lagoon water and its coral which will conclude this summer. The US have already committed to spending several million dollars over 2014-16 to ensure that they comply with our no-discharge policy.

Middle East

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for the Middle East peace process of recent reports that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said his organisation will not renounce violence or recognise Israel.

Hugh Robertson: Reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under a Palestinian Authority committed to peace with Israel is a necessary step towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a key element of a viable negotiated solution. We welcome the formation on 2 June of a new interim technocratic government for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We have made clear that our continued support to the new Palestinian government will rest on its commitment to the principle of non-violence, a negotiated two state solution, and an acceptance of all previous agreements and obligations, including Israel’s legitimate right to exist. We now look to the new government to demonstrate these commitments through its actions as well as its words.

Nigeria

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Nigeria.

Mark Simmonds: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), discussed the abduction of the schoolgirls with FM Wali on 18 April, and attended a Summit in Paris on 17 May with the Nigerian President, which was specially convened to discuss this issue. I discussed the abduction with President Jonathan and Defence Minister Gusau during my visit to Nigeria on 14 May. During that visit we agreed the package of support the British Government would offer to help find the girls, as well as to help tackle Boko Haram’s wider activities. Foreign Minister Wali and I have been in contact since then on the subject of Boko Haram. I look forward to further detailed conversations with him and representatives from Nigeria’s neighbours, the US, Canada, France, EU, UN and AU at this week’s ministerial meeting on security in northern Nigeria.

Ambulance Services

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve ambulance services.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is working with Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority to improve performance in 2014-15, this includes a workstream looking at best practice.
	However, this Government also wants to tackle the root causes of the increasing demand on urgent and emergency care services.
	That is why the Urgent and Emergency Care review, led by Sir Bruce Keogh, is currently considering whole system change to the delivery of urgent and emergency care, including new models of delivery of care for ambulance services, such as:
	general practitioner and other clinical support/advice in control rooms and to crews on the ground and how it can reduce conveyance rates (particularly for frail and elderly, mental health, and children) and;
	prevention work available to the Ambulance Service: early diagnosis and risk management.
	In addition, as part of the review, NHS England is working closely with stakeholders (including the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives) to ensure that ambulance services can be further developed and commissioned as a treatment as well as a transport service.
	As part of this work, an Ambulance Task Group has been set up and is working with Health Education England to reform the training and careers framework for paramedics-to involve developing a skilled set of advanced practitioners in the Ambulance Service to deliver care closer to home using hear & treat and see & treat models.
	The first phase of the review was published last November. We expect NHS England to be publishing further reports later this year.

Health Services: Ombudsman

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of aligning health services in regulatory bodies and ombudsman services;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to simplify ombudsman services in health and social care;
	(3)  if he will make an assessment on the potential merits of merging health and social care ombudsman services in England.

Daniel Poulter: The Government is considering reports of the Public Administration Select Committee into how complaints about public services are handled. As part of this inquiry, the Cabinet Office is undertaking work to further investigate how public services can make best use of complaints and also to take a wider look at the role and powers of the public sector Ombudsmen. The Government will respond to these reports in due course.

Hospitals: Television

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings he has had with NHS England on the contracting of provision of television services in hospitals.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has not had any recent meetings with NHS England on the contracting of the provision of television services in hospitals.

Mental Health Services

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the oral answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 714, on physical and mental health (parity of esteem), in what ways he plans to achieve complete transparency in the availability of data on mental health spending.

Norman Lamb: NHS England currently collects and publishes information about mental health spending via its Programme Budgeting Datasetand published expenditure data for 2012-13 on 21 February 2014. This is available on its website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/
	We are working with NHS England to support its plans to develop this dataset for 2013-14 to provide a more meaningful analysis of expenditure.

Sunbeds

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government plans to respond to the recommendations set out in the report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin on sunbed regulation published in 2014.

Jane Ellison: The Government has noted the report and is currently considering how to respond to the recommendations.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with (a) church and community leaders from black and minority ethnic communities and (b) Operation Black Vote on increasing registration levels for voters in those communities.

Greg Clark: I met recently with Operation Black Vote to discuss the importance of electoral registration.
	The Government is keen to work with groups and organisations to support and raise the profile of the importance of voter registration among all communities.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the UK armed forces would lose their jobs as a result of Scottish independence.

Mark Francois: The UK Government is not planning for Scottish independence and neither is the Ministry of Defence. Existing members of the UK armed forces would still be part of the UK armed forces and, as far as the UK Government is concerned, would be able to continue to serve in them, subject to the usual requirements of service.

Birds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of song birds in the UK.

George Eustice: The UK has designated 615 sites as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, and 270 sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive to provide protection to our most vulnerable and threatened wild birds.
	Agri-environment schemes are the principal means of improving habitat for farmland songbirds, assisting farmers to provide additional habitat and food on their farms for birds and other wildlife. The Government also supports the Campaign for the Farmed Environment to provide better habitats for farmland birds.
	The Government has provided £7.5 million to establish 12 Nature Improvement Areas. These are intended to benefit birds by improving existing habitat, creating new habitat and improving connectivity between habitats.

Merlins

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of merlins in the UK; and what steps his Department is taking to maintain their numbers and habitat.

George Eustice: The merlin is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to take, kill or injure any wild bird; take or damage their nests while in use; and take or destroy an egg. This robust legal framework protects the merlin from persecution, with penalties including imprisonment.
	The Department has not made an assessment of merlin population levels. A study by Ewing et al reported that in 2008 there were approximately 1,100 breeding pairs of merlins in the UK.
	Several measures are in place to protect habitats. The UK has designated 615 sites as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, and 270 sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive to provide protection to our most vulnerable and threatened wild birds.
	The Government has also provided £7.5 million to establish twelve Nature Improvement Areas. These are intended to benefit birds by improving existing habitat, creating new habitat and improving connectivity between habitats.

Poultry

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on beak trimming of chickens; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2010 restricts the method used for the routine beak trimming of laying hens to infra-red technology only. The Government is also working with the Beak Trimming Action Group, which includes representatives from industry, welfare groups and scientists, to find ways to manage flocks of birds without the need to beak trim. DEFRA is currently funding a peer reviewed research study to assess the effectiveness of management strategies in reducing injurious pecking in non-beak trimmed laying hens. The results of this pilot study and all other available evidence will feed into a review in 2015.

Disadvantaged: EU Grants and Loans

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of a Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived on deprived communities in the UK.

Esther McVey: The Government is currently considering the best use of the money. It is therefore too early to assess what impact it might have.

Housing: Construction

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if his Department will provide incentives to developers to ensure that new homes planned for construction in 2014-15 will be (a) wheelchair accessible and (b) built to lifetime homes standards.

Stephen Williams: Part M of the Building Regulations set minimum access standards for new homes. The Government plans to introduce an optional level of accessibility above these minimum access standards which will set out criteria for age friendly, accessible and adaptable standards. The Government also plans to set out within Part M an optional standard which will set out criteria related to the specific needs of wheelchair adaptable and accessible housing.
	Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework already sets out that Local Plans should take into account the current and future needs of range of households including older and disabled people.
	This combination of Building Regulations and national planning policy sets a robust framework to promote adaptable and accessible housing.

Housing: Construction

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the demand for (a) homes built to lifetime home standards and (b) wheelchair accessible homes.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government, does not hold information on the overall demand for lifetime homes or wheelchair-accessible properties in the UK.
	While the Department’s English Housing Survey does ask respondents whether their current accommodation requires adaptations given their disability or long standing illness, these questions do not ask specifically about wheelchair accessibility. It is therefore not possible to estimate demand for wheelchair accessible properties in England using this data source.
	Estimates using the English Housing Survey show there to be around 1.1 million wheelchair-accessible homes in England, equating to 5% of the dwelling stock. Data reported by social landlords, in England, shows that around 1% (2,700 of 240,000 general needs lettings) of tenants taking up a social letting in 2011-12 identified their household as needing wheelchair accessible housing (source: The Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales of Social Housing in England).

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding each tenancy deposit protection scheme has received from the Government in each of the last 10 years.

Kris Hopkins: The tenancy deposit protection schemes are operated by private companies under service concession agreements with my Department. All the schemes are designed to be self-financing.
	The service concession agreement that was agreed by the previous Administration with the custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme contained a guarantee that the Government would meet any shortfall arising if approved fees were not covered by the interest on deposits held.
	As a result of the low interest rates that emerged due to the financial turmoil in 2008 and 2009, this agreement left the Government—i.e. taxpayers—liable for a shortfall under that guarantee which was estimated to reach over £30 million by the end of the contract in 2012.
	In May 2010, the coalition Government inherited this unacceptable situation and looming liabilities. As outlined by my right hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), on 19 July 2011, Official Report, column 828W, following extensive negotiations in summer 2010, the guarantee and all associated liabilities were removed as part of a revised agreement which also incorporated a payment of £12.7 million and a four-year extension of the original agreement.
	This is the only payment which has been made by Government to any of the tenancy deposit protection schemes.